TLDT c06s01
Text Scrivener rubbed his hooves lamely together as Rainbow Dash continued to glare at him across the table, and Pinkie Pie did her best to mimic the Pegasus' expression before the stallion said finally over the music pouring through the tavern: "I'm sorry?" "Okay then!" Pinkie said brightly, and when Rainbow gave her a sour look, the pink earth pony quickly nodded seriously, then returned to glaring at Scrivener, giving a little growl that sounded about as menacing as an adorable puppy. "I mean, not okay then!" "Dude, we were waiting here for thirty minutes for you!" Rainbow said finally, looking frustrated, and Scrivener rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before the sky-blue Pegasus groaned. "You and Twilight have been seeing each other for like a week, officially, and... dude, seriously, you two have the rest of your lives to spend together. We're still your friends and you're not supposed to act like some high school colt with his first crush." "I'll buy all the drinks tonight to make it up to you two. And I'll stay as late as you do." Scrivener promised, and Rainbow finally looked pacified before Scrivener settled back with a wheeze, rubbing at his face and mumbling: "Besides. This is a slightly-more... shall we say... 'active' Twilight Sparkle than I knew." Pinkie Pie giggled behind her hooves as Rainbow grinned wryly at him, picking up her bottle of beer and saying mildly: "You should count yourself lucky, Scrivy. Twilight's a good pony... and she really cares about you." The Pegasus hesitated, then traded a look with Pinkie Pie before the blue mare asked slowly: "Look, I'm only going to ask you once, because I've started to like you a little bit over the last month, but... about Twilight and her... her changes... you..." Scrivener only shook his head slowly, then he held up a hoof to a waitress that was doing her rounds, the mare approaching them as the charcoal pony said to Rainbow and Pinkie "I didn't have anything to do with that, I swear up and down. I... I guess Twilight has more of a wild streak in her than any of us guessed, you know? Maybe all those years of tutoring under Celestia and working her hardest to be the very best means that when she finally kinda let go, she... really... really let go." He shook his head, then turned to the waitress as she reached their table, saying quietly: "Colt cola for me, lemon shooters for Pinkie, and a pitcher of whatever ale's freshest on tap." The waitress nodded, and then Rainbow hurriedly rose a hoof, adding mildly: "And since my generous friend is putting all this on his tab, get us a round of nachos, too, will ya?" "One day you're gonna get yourself killed, Rainbow." the waitress said mildly, and the Pegasus nodded agreeably before the serving mare smiled wryly and turned to fetch their order as Scrivener glowered over at the now-complacently-smiling Pegasus. Before he could say anything, however, Pinkie looked up and said kindly: "Look, Scrivy, Twilight might be acting a little silly right now but she's just real happy, happier than I've seen her since she first came to Ponyville! I mean, she's usually so quiet and private about her personal life, but... she's really out and open about you and her, and even though it's uh..." "Gross." Rainbow supplied, and Pinkie nodded fervently. "Gross and maybe just a teensy tiny little bit scary when she gets a little too sharey and detaily, I think it's good, too. I just think that... it's like when I first got off the rock farm, and suddenly I was allowed to be happy and bouncy and party all I wanted." Pinkie smiled warmly. "She just needs to adjust, then she'll settle down, just like I did!" Scrivener and Rainbow Dash both looked at Pinkie Pie for a few moments, and then Rainbow asked finally: "This is you... settled down?" "Well, sure! Remember what I was like when I first came to Ponyville?" Pinkie giggled a little, and Rainbow nodded moodily after a moment as Scrivener smiled despite himself. "Look, I might not know much about much but I'm pretty sure of myself on this." Scrivener glanced over at Rainbow Dash, but the Pegasus only shrugged after a moment, raising her beer, and Scrivener grunted and nodded as he sat back and lowered his head thoughtfully. Before he could say anything, however, a quiet voice surprised them as it asked: "Excuse me but... but may I please sit here? If it's no trouble, of course..." The three ponies all turned to see Fluttershy nervously standing nearby, and Scrivener nodded quickly as he slipped to the side in the bench seat, the Pegasus smiling a little at him as she quietly slipped in to sit beside him. Pinkie smiled warmly, and Rainbow continued to look surprised, studying Fluttershy curiously as the charcoal stallion looked towards the shy blonde mare with interest. "It's good to see you, Fluttershy... it's been a while since... well, since we met. I don't think we've talked since then, have we?" "No..." Fluttershy murmured, bowing her head quietly, and Scrivener cocked his head as he gazed at her before her sea-green eyes slowly, nervously looked up at him. "I... was doing a lot of thinking. I hope you don't think I was avoiding you, Scrivener Blooms." Scrivener only gave her a bit of a smile, saying quietly: "Not at all." He paused, then glanced up as the waitress headed back towards him, tray loaded down with their order. "Let me get you a drink, Fluttershy." "Oh, you don't have to..." Fluttershy blushed and dropped her head forwards, looking embarrassed before she glanced up at him again with a faint smile when he gave her an insistent look. "Okay. Just something light, though. I don't plan to stay for very long." "Come on, Shy, you should stay! It's great to see you out here and stuff." Rainbow said empathetically, and Pinkie Pie nodded and smiled in agreement before the blue Pegasus said clearly, as the waiter approached: "Cosmopolitan for Fluttershy!" "Oh, no, no, I would much rather just have some... apple cider, or even just water..." Fluttershy's voice eventually became a near-silent mumble, and the waitress was already walking away, Rainbow Dash smiling amusedly across at the blonde-coated mare. "Relax a little." Rainbow invited, and then she looked over at Pinkie Pie as the brightly-colored earth pony nodded rapidly in agreement. "Anyway, hey, why don't you tell Scrivy here about all the animals you look after? I bet he loves animals." "Really?" Fluttershy brightened a bit, and when Scrivener smiled and nodded, she sat up and gazed at him with a small smile in return. "I thought you did. It was just a feeling, but... it was there and... I'm very glad to hear it. Oh, listen to me ramble, I'm sorry." Scrivener only shook his head and rose a hoof with a quiet laugh, then he picked up the cola in front of him and sipped at it slowly as Fluttershy looked up at him. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, both began to talk away about something, but the charcoal pony's eyes locked on Fluttershy as she held his gaze with her own, still smiling shyly, but her eyes were anything but. There was something else there... some message she was trying to give him, as his eyes locked on her and he leaned in towards her, tilting his head as a chill ran down his spine before she said quietly: "I don't get along very well with other ponies all the time... but I've never had any problem with animals. Big or small, fierce or timid... and the time I spend with them is a little like... Nirvana." Scrivener looked with surprise at Fluttershy at this comparison, and then the Pegasus said quietly: "Please excuse me. I'm going to go freshen up. I'll only be a moment... just... wait a moment, please." The Pegasus looked at him almost imploringly as she slipped carefully away from the table, and Scrivener stared after her before Rainbow Dash cleared her throat loudly, asking mildly: "Hey, Scrivy, you okay there? You look a little freaked... what, did Fluttershy somehow freak you out instead of the other way around?" Scrivener grunted, then he shook his head and returned his eyes awkwardly to the two ponies that were now looking at him curiously before he swept up his cola and took a deep drink from it. He looked quickly out over the tavern, watching as Fluttershy pushed carefully through a door into the bathroom... and then he shook his head and mumbled: "Excuse me. I'm... I'm just going to go and uh... yeah." Scrivener slipped out of the seat, hurried past the waitress that was returning with Fluttershy's drink, and then made a beeline for the bathroom door. He all-but-charged into it, knocking it open and letting it swing closed behind him as he found himself faced with two doors before stepping forwards... His hoof splashed in something, and Scrivener slowly looked down, feeling his heart pulse in his chest as he saw he had stepped in... red... A puddle of what looked like thick red blood had spilled out from beneath the bathroom door, and Scrivener breathed harder, trembling before he looked up and shoved the door open, and he had to bite back a scream as he stared into a tunnel of flesh beyond, pulsating red walls lined with thick, black cables and pipes that pumped and leaked steaming black corruption, massive gears and apparatus sticking out of the walls here and there like hideous mechanical tumors before his eyes stared into the darkness as he heard Fluttershy scream, saw something large and brutal and monstrous dragging her slowly away... He gasped for breath, almost retching at the rotten reek of the tunnel, tears filling his eyes as panic and fear and misery tore through his veins. And then Scrivener trembled as he gritted his teeth, seeing Fluttershy's terrified eyes, saw the bruises and blood over her body before he yelled desperately: "Oh screw it!" With that, Scrivener lunged into the tunnel, hooves hammering over the fleshy floor as he charged after her, snarling as the massive, lumbering thing glared over a shoulder at him, all teeth and bruised, veiny flesh and raw muscle. He thought he saw twisting black fire spilling down its back like hair, but the thing was so godawful, so hard to look at, that he couldn't make it out. It filled him with fear and revulsion and horror, just as the tunnel he was running down sent terror through his heart and he was so scared he felt numb, his heart thudding hard enough to rattle his body, and yet part of him was laughing, excited, aroused, enjoying this... There was a terrible clanking, and Scrivener looked up before he skidded to a halt just before several massive pipes, girders, and boulders of what looked like flesh fell in front of him, crashing down and blocking the tunnel. Fluttershy screamed beyond the barricade, and Scrivener howled in denial, running up and ramming into the barrier before he clawed desperately at it, gritting his teeth, feeling flesh and rock and stone and marble and tile- "Scrivener!" shouted a voice, and Scrivy spun around, breathing hard, to see Rainbow Dash standing behind him... and no walls of flesh, no machinery, no sparking electricity or blood, but just a bathroom that looked like a whirlwind had torn through it. The tiles were scuffed, the garbage can was knocked over and trash spread all over, one of the stalls had been hammered apart... and when Scrivener slowly looked forwards, he stared in horror as he saw not an awful, horrendous barricade, but a shattered sink and scuffed wall and a cracked mirror and... and the blood... He stared weakly at his broken reflection, trembling as he reached up and touched his face: blood was dripping from his ears and an eye, and he looked bruised and scuffed and badly beaten. Rainbow and Pinkie were both shouting at him, other voices were adding to the din, and then Scrivener looked slowly, weakly up before he pointed at a high window that had been forced open, whispering: "It took Fluttershy." Rainbow went silent and pale at this, looking back and forth around the bathroom before she snarled suddenly and leapt into the air, shooting up and through the window. They could hear her, yelling Fluttershy's name desperately to the night, as Pinkie stared and trembled before Scrivener turned slowly around and slumped back against the wall, grabbing at his head and shivering violently as he whispered: "I saw... I saw such... I... I..." "Get it together." snapped a voice, and Scrivener looked up at the bright pink pony... except she was now grayed, her mane straight, teeth sharp, piercings in her ears and eyes the red-rimmed blue of Pinkamena as she said quietly: "You're better than this. Hey, do you hear me? I said-" "Do you hear me?" Scrivener blinked, and in that sparse second, he was staring weakly up and seeing only Pinkie Pie again, the bright pink pony looking worriedly down at him, eyes concerned. "Are you okay? You look really badly hurt!" "I'm... I'm fine." Scrivener whispered, slowly pushing himself to his hooves before he clenched his eyes shut, wobbling a bit as a wave of lightheadedness and nausea passed through him. "I just... I need to..." "Come on, let's get you a drink." soothed the waitress that had served him before, stepping forwards to quickly help Scrivener out of the bathroom. And for the earth pony, everything passed in a blur as he found himself at a table, clutching a mug of coffee between his front hooves and stuttering his way through weak, confused statements as ponies clustered around and asked him what had happened. Eventually, Twilight Sparkle showed up, running to Scrivener and hugging him fiercely around the neck as she trembled and looked at him worriedly, whispering: "Oh Scrivy... I... I was so scared when they told me... come on. Come on, let's... let's get you up and get you out of here, okay?" "Listen, he doesn't seem able to remember what happened... from that hit on his head, it looks like... your friend got a little addled." said a voice, and Scrivener looked blearily up as he realized it was a police officer. When the hell did I talk to a cop... "I know... he has his problems, on top of that..." "He'll be fine!" Twilight said sharply, emphatically, and then she trembled a bit as she looked down at him, reaching up and slowly stroking through Scrivener's mane, whispering: "He... he just needs rest. Scrivy, god, you idiot..." "I... I had to try and help her." Scrivener said weakly, and then he closed his eyes and shivered. "And I couldn't... I couldn't save her..." Twilight only silently hugged him around the neck, and the officer sighed before saying quietly : "We'll need him to come down to the station tomorrow to make a statement. He should see a doctor, too." The violent unicorn only nodded, and then she gently pulled Scrivener to her hooves, and he fought to register what was going on around him as he allowed the purple mare to lead him onwards and out of the bar. He felt a daze descend over him, a weight heavy on his shoulders as his eyes slid closed... and when he opened them next and forced himself up through a haze of tiredness, he realized that he was laying in bed with Twilight curled up against his chest, holding tightly onto him and with her face buried against the side of his neck. Scrivener took comfort in it even as his mind whirled with questions; after all, what had happened? Had his vision been another hallucination, or had he really seen the tunnel... had Fluttershy really tried to tell him something or had he just imagined it... The earth pony slowly reached up and touched his head, closing his eyes as he felt the bandages, and he breathed slowly through his mouth as he felt Twilight shift a little before she clung tighter to him and buried her face deeper into his mane, murmuring wordlessly in her sleep. Scrivener looked down at her quietly, and then he silently kissed her forehead, closing his eyes and wrapping his forelegs around her as he trembled a little, scared of what was happening in the world around him... and even more afraid that all of it was just in his head. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story